Brock Vergakis at the
Virginian-Pilot offers a piece on a U.S. Navy officer who is the first officer
charged by the military in connection to the “Fat Leonard” bribery and fraud scandal.
A former fighter pilot
charged with accepting bribes and gifts that included prostitutes, four
suckling pigs and tickets to a Julio Iglesias concert as part of the expansive
“Fat Leonard” scandal appeared at the military equivalent of a preliminary
hearing Monday.
Cmdr. David Alexander Morales
is the first Navy official to be charged by the military in connection with the
“Fat Leonard” case, which until now has been prosecuted in civilian federal
court in San Diego. Monday’s hearing will help determine whether there’s
probable cause to take the case to court-martial.
“Fat Leonard” is the nickname
given to Leonard Francis (seen in the above photo), the owner and chief
executive of Glenn Defense Marine Asia. Francis pleaded guilty in 2015 to
presiding over a decade-long conspiracy involving “scores” of U.S. Navy
officials, tens of millions of dollars in fraud and millions of dollars in
bribes and gifts, according to the Justice Department.
The massive scheme involved
awarding Glenn Defense Marine Asia lucrative contracts to provide services to
U.S. ships while in southeast Asia.
At least 20 current or former
U.S. Navy officials have been charged in the fraud and bribery investigation.
You can read the rest of the
piece via the below link:
You can also read my Counterterrorism
piece about the Fat Leonard bribery and fraud scandal via the below link:
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